The Fight
by bluesygirl
Summary: An imagined version of the fight that led to Percy's estrangement from the family. I always felt vaguely sympathetic to Percy, so I was trying to present the way he may have felt on that occasion. Ron's POV. No copyright infringement intended.


"Where is your brother?" demanded Mum again, as the family sat round the fire. Ron looked up and rolled his eyes, his father turned a page of The Daily Profit, looking completely absorbed. Hermione offered soothingly, "I expect he just had some extra work Mrs. Weasley."

"Yeah Mum, maybe they wanted to yell at him some more about Crouch?" suggested Fred grinning, but he quickly stopped at the look on his mothers face. Ron was having difficulty composing a letter to Harry that didn't contain any important information but was still friendly, and he offered no opinion as to where Percy was. His clock hand said work, it could be assumed Percy was at work. End of story.

Suddenly the clock hand spun wildly to "traveling" for a few seconds, and Percy walked in the door. Ron saw that he looked incredibly pleased, and he strode into the family room importantly, his chest puffed out, glasses slightly askew.

"Everyone," he announced pompously, like a mayor preparing to give a speech, "I have some very important news. This afternoon I was promoted to Junior Assistant to the minister." He looked around at the stunned room and smiled broadly, adding in a much less pompous and much more excited voice, "I'm the youngest to hold that position in 300 years!"

Ron looked around, to see if everyone else looked as stunned to hear this as he was. Ron hadn't thought Percy was in the position to be promoted, considering he was still in such trouble for having failed to notice that his last boss was being controlled by Lord Voldemort. Ron saw that his father was frowning slightly, but his mother said confusedly, "Oh Percy dear, that's wonderful!" and she came forward and embraced him.

Ron was preparing to go offer a dutiful congratulations when he noticed his father shake his head slightly in his direction. Puzzled, Ron exchanged a perplexed look with Ginny, while Fred and George looked similarly taken aback by their father's reaction. Bill was watching their dad closely, looking apprehensive.

"Percy," began Dad slowly, and Percy looked up, still grinning. He was completely oblivious to his father's reaction. Mum however looked at Dad's face and said quickly, "Come with me Percy, I'll fix you your supper. This is very good news son, I'm very proud."

"Molly," began dad slowly, but Mum said quickly, "Isn't it good news Arthur?" glancing pleadingly at Dad.

He began again, "Molly, we have to talk about this."

Mum batted this away, "We can talk about it later dear, let's just get Percy his dinner first."

Dad said quietly, "We need to discuss this now Molly."

"Discuss what?" asked Percy, his grin fading slightly, looking at his father uncertainly.

Dad took a deep breath, and said with extreme trepidation, "Son, don't you think this is a little sudden?"

"What do you mean?" asked Percy. HIs grin was gone, he was now looking at their father with suspicion. Behind him, Ron saw Bill gesturing to him to leave the room, but he couldn't somehow. It was if he was glued to the floor, watching as his brother's expression changed from one of joy to disappointment and hurt.

Dad said cautiously, "Don't you think this is a little unexpected, considering how young you are, and how inexperienced, and..."

He trailed off, but Percy snapped, "And _what_ Dad?"

Dad finished gently, "Do you really think your earned this job with your performance in your last one?"

Percy paled, and he gazed disbelievingly at their father. Then his face twisted, and for one horrible moment Ron thought his brother was going to cry. But Percy, though he was breathing heavily, did not shed a single tear. Instead his hands curled into fists as he hissed, "What the are you implying?"

Ron thought his mother was going to faint, she looked very white and said, "Arthur," softly, but his father ignored her. Looking Percy in the eyes, he said gently, "The minister knows that we're closely tied to Dumbledore, and the Order of the Phoenix. Don't you think their might be a chance that the Minister is trying to use you for information?"

Percy gasped, and Ron saw Bill look away, clearly pained. Percy mouthed wordlessly for a moment, but then seemed to find his speech. Inhaling sharply, he breathed, "How _dare_ you?"

Dad tried to say something, but Percy wouldn't let him get it out. Glaring at his father, he said, his voice unusually high, "Do you really think you're that important Dad? Do you think your so special and so powerful that the minister would want to spy on you?" His voice grew louder, soon he was shouting, "Well guess what Dad, you're not! No one at the ministry gives a damn about Arthur Weasley! You hold a pathetic position, your jobs a joke, and you haven't had a promotion in twenty years!"

"Percy!" began dad, but Percy continued. He was screaming now, and his face was a livid red, "You're nothing at the ministry! Nothing! You've got no ambition, no importance, and I've had to fight the reputation I have as you're son ever since I got there. I got this job because of my own talent, and it is in spite of you, not because of you that I did!"

Dad was shaking now, and he had completely lost the calm he had had a moment earlier, "I chose to stay where I am Percy! The ministry manipulates people, it uses them! I chose to stay in a place where I could do good and try to change the way it is, instead of using that corruption to my own advantage! Do you think I haven't been offered promotions?"

"I think," bellowed Percy, "That you have no ambition, and it's us who have paid the price! Look at Ron," Ron started as his own name, and looked at himself, perplexed. Percy was still talking, "I owned those robes before he did, and Charlie owned them before me, and Bill had them second hand. Look at this room, this house," he gestured wildly around, "This place is a dump, it's a _dump_! And you," he paused for breath, his voice had become more ragged, he sounded close to tears, "You could have changed that! But no, you were too busy making some big heroic point at the ministry that no one cares about! You children could go to school in rags, but as long as you were sticking up for muggles, everything was fine."

Around him, Ron thought the room had stopped breathing. Ginny looked frightened, and Fred and George had moved closer together, their faces horrified. Bill looked furious, and their mother was crying. Ron thought of what Draco Malfoy had said to him on the first day at Hogwarts, "Red hair, and a hand me down robe, you must be a Weasley." He gazed at Percy disbelievingly, and flinched at the anger in his father's voice when he spoke again:

"I have never sacrificed the welfare of my children for anything," said their father heatedly, "And for you to suggest that I have is outrageous Percy!"

It was Percy's turn to try and speak, but their father interrupted him again, his voice raised an octave louder, "It's not just about 'sticking up for muggles' anymore, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned Percy, and it is for the well being of my family that I have joined The Order of the Phoenix and it is for their protection that I am warning you that the ministry is manipulating you!"

"You have no proof," yelled Percy, "that You-Know-Who has returned. This is just Arthur Weasley playing the hero, again at the expense of his reputation!"

"Harry Potter saw it with his own eyes," cried their father, "And if Dumbledore believes him, I do! The only way any of us are going to make this is by trusting Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore is 150 years old!" screamed Percy wildly, "He's senile Dad! And Harry! Are you really going to make decisions that could affect your career based on the word of a 15 year old who quite frankly has shown himself to be unbalanced many times before!"

Ron caught Hermione's outraged look and knew it mirrored his own. How dare Percy call Harry unbalanced? Ron wanted to say something, but he was too startled by what was going on to do anything but watch, as though it were a play being enacted by his brother and father in the middle of his living room.

"When has Harry Potter ever shown himself to be unbalanced!" demanded their dad.

"How about all the times Ron's life has been seriously endangered by him on some wild attention seeking escapade!" retorted Percy, who was still yelling wildly.

"You're sister's life was saved on one of those occasions!" cried Dad, but Percy batted that away as unimportant, crying, "Yes, make excuses for Harry, make them for Ron, make them for Fred and George. But if you are determined to ignore the advice of the ministry, whom have no reason to lie to you, then I will not be part of this family anymore! I am finished with you! He gestured to the entire room, "All of you! I am finished with all of you!"

He turned and stormed up the stairs. In the living room everyone was silent, listening as he stomped around in his bedroom, slamming his trunk and cursing. "Arthur," said Mum softly, but dad, his face stony, said nothing in return.

Percy was hurrying back down the stairs, two trunks floating tipsily behind him. Hermes was hooting from his cage, and Percy turned to look at Bill, and said heatedly, "If you had any common sense at all you would leave too!"

"Go to hell Percy!" said Bill angrily. Percy blanched white but shrugged his shoulders and went out the door. There was a loud crack, and he, trunks and all were gone.

Mum broke down completely, sobbing, and Ginny, Fred and George hurried over to comfort her. Bill was talking urgently to dad, who was nodding listlessly to whatever he was saying. All Ron could do was gaze at his family, and try to understand what had just happened. Percy was gone. His annoying, pompous, older brother was gone. But somehow Ron couldn't understand how they had gone from sitting lazily in front of the fire to having lost a family member.

Hermione was looking at him, a mixture of sympathy and apprehension in her expression. Silently, she made her way over to him, and asked softly, "Are you all right?"

"Fine," said Ron blindly, scooping up is letter to Harry. Gesturing for Hermione to follow him, he hurried out of the room and said, "We should finish these, or Harry really will do something stupid."


End file.
